When life hands you lemons...
... make cookies!! These lemon shortbread are some of the best cookies I have ever tasted. Perfectly sweet and tart all at once. So much lemon flavour! Can think of no better cookie to exemplify summer.
Best part about this recipe is that you don't have to bake the whole batch at once. If, like me, you need a little forced will-power you can always slice off and bake a few cookies and then freeze the rest of the roll for another day. Also means these can easily be prepped ahead of time and then frozen until needed. At which time just thaw, slice and bake!
I'm a huge lemon fan so the more lemon flavour the better for me but I think these would work well with a mix of citrus... a little lime or orange mixed in. Blood orange would be delicious! But it all comes down to your preference.
Recipe from Williams-Sonoma Sweet and Tart
Lemon Shortbread with Lemon Glaze
- 1 cup (220g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cup (180g) powdered sugar
- zest of 3 lemons, plus 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- pinch of kosher salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups (300g) unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1/3 cup (65g) turbinado or raw sugar
Beat the butter, 3/4 cup (90g) of the powdered sugar, three-fourths of the lemon zest, and the salt in a mixer bowl on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Turn the speed to low and add the vanilla, then the flour in 1 cup (120g) increments. The dough should be firm.
transfer the dough to a work surface and shape into a log, rolling it to a size of about 8 by 12 in (20 by 5 cm). Center it on a sheet of parchment paper and roll so it is as uniformly round as possible. Enclose the dough in the parchment and refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours. [This is where I'd say you're safe to freeze. Thaw, coat in sugar, slice, and bake when needed.]
Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Unwrap the log and brush all over with the egg white. Sprinkle the turbinado sugar over the dough and press with your hands to make it adhere, rolling to coat it completely. Cut the log into slices about 1/4 in (6mm) thick and transfer to the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 in (5cm) apart. Bake for 17 minutes, or until firm, rotating the baking sheets 180 degrees about halfway through the baking time. The cookies will be pale but lightly golden around the edges.
Let cool completely on the baking sheets on wire racks.
Combine the remaining 3/4 cup (90g) powdered sugar, the lemon juice, and remaining lemon zest in a small bowl and blend with a form to make a glaze. (If the glaze is too thick to drizzle, add a few drops lemon juice or water. If it is too thin, add more powdered sugar.)
Set the wire racks over a baking sheet and drizzle the glaze over the cooled cookies with a fork. (The sheet will catch the drips, which can be scraped up and reused if you run short of glaze.) Let set for about 1 hour. Store, covered, at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Makes about 36 cookies
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